Uriel Antuna

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Antuna and the second or maternal family name is Romero.

Carlos Uriel Antuna Romero (born 21 August 1997) is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a winger for Liga MX club Tigres UANL and the Mexico national team.

Uriel Antuna

Personal information
Full name	Carlos Uriel Antuna Romero[1]
Date of birth	(1997-08-21) 21 August 1997 (age 27)[2]
Place of birth	Gómez Palacio, Durango, Mexico
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[3]
Position(s)	Winger
Team information
Current team	Tigres UANL
Number	22
Youth career
2012–2017	Santos Laguna
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017	Santos Laguna	1	(0)
2017–2019	Manchester City	0	(0)
2017–2018	→ Groningen (loan)	20	(0)
2017–2018	→ Jong Groningen (loan)	19	(5)
2019	→ LA Galaxy (loan)	31	(6)
2020–2021	Guadalajara	62	(7)
2022–2024	Cruz Azul	97	(24)
2024–	Tigres UANL	12	(0)
International career‡
2017	Mexico U20	10	(5)
2018	Mexico U21	5	(0)
2021	Mexico U23	11	(4)
2019–	Mexico	64	(13)
Medal record Men's football Representing  Mexico CONCACAF Gold Cup Winner 2019 United States Team Winner 2023 United States–Canada Team CONCACAF Nations League Runner-up 2024 United States Olympic Games 2020 Tokyo Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 25 August 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 30 June 2024

Club career

Early career

In 2012, Antuna joined the Santos Laguna youth academy, successfully going through the U-15, U-17 and U-20 teams.

In 2017, first-team manager José Manuel de la Torre promoted Antuna. On 5 March, Antuna made his professional debut in the Liga MX entering as a substitute in a 2–1 loss to Pumas UNAM.^[4]

FC Groningen

On 12 July 2017, English club Manchester City, via City Football Group, announced they had signed Antuna on a four-year contract.^[5] On 9 August, he joined Eredivisie club FC Groningen on a two-year loan deal.^[6]

On 10 September, Antuna made his league debut against VVV-Venlo; he entered the match as a substitute in a 1–1 draw.^[7]

LA Galaxy

On 29 January 2019, Antuna joined MLS side LA Galaxy on loan for their 2019 season. He scored his first goal for the team in their 2–1 victory over Real Salt Lake on 28 April.^[8] In October, he extended his contract with Manchester City, keeping him through 2022.^[9] At the end of his time with LA Galaxy, he made 31 league appearances with 6 goals and 5 assists; he also received interest from Portuguese club Benfica.^[10]

Guadalajara

On 28 November 2019, Antuna joined Liga MX side Guadalajara.^[11] On 11 January 2020, he would make his debut with Guadalajara, coming on as a substitute for Isaác Brizuela in a 2–0 victory over Juárez.^[12] On 5 September, Antuna scored his first goal with Chivas against Tigres UANL in a 3–1 victory.^[13]

Cruz Azul

A trade for Uriel Antuna and Sebastian Cordova had been agreed between Club America and Guadalajara.^[14] However, after the proposed trade fell through, Cruz Azul reached an agreement with Guadalajara to sign Antuna on January 4, 2022.^[15]

Tigres UANL

On 27 August 2024, Antuna joined Tigres UANL.

International career

Youth

Antuna was called up to the under-20 team camp in preparations for the 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship.^[16] He was subsequently called up for the tournament.^[17] During a classification stage match against El Salvador he would score a hat-trick, with Mexico winning the match 6–1.^[18] He was included in the best XI of the tournament.^[19] Antuna was called up for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup.^[20] He would appear in all five matches until they were eliminated by England in the quarter-finals.

Antuna was included in the final roster that participated at the 2018 Toulon Tournament.^[21] He would appear in all five matches as Mexico went on to face England in the final, losing 2–1.^[22]

Antuna participated at the 2020 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship, scoring three goals in five appearances, where Mexico won the competition. He was subsequently included in the tournament's Best XI.^[23] He was subsequently called up to participate in the 2020 Summer Olympics. Antuna won the bronze medal with the Olympic team.^[24]

Senior

On 3 November 2017, Juan Carlos Osorio named Antuna to the senior national team for the friendly matches against Belgium and Poland on 10 and 13 November but did not appear in either match.^[25]

In May 2019, Antuna was included in Gerardo Martino's preliminary list for the CONCACAF Gold Cup.^[26] He made his debut on 5 June in a friendly against Venezuela, appearing as a 68th minute substitute for Roberto Alvarado.^[27] After originally being left out of the definite list for the Gold Cup, he was included after Jorge Sánchez picked up an injury in a friendly match against Ecuador.^[28] In Mexico's opening match against Cuba, Antuna scored a hat-trick and provided an assist in the team's 7–0 rout;^[29] his first goal at the 2nd minute of the match is the fastest goal scored by Mexico in a Gold Cup tournament.^[30] He appeared in every match as Mexico would go on to win the tournament.^[31]

On 19 November, in Mexico's final Nations League group stage match against Bermuda, Antuna scored the winning goal in injury time to secure a 2–1 win, maintaining Mexico's perfect group-stage record.^[32]

In October 2022, Antuna was named in Mexico's preliminary 31-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and in November, he was ultimately included in the final 26-man roster.^[33]

Style of play

Antuna is an agile player with sheer acceleration and speed who can dribble past opponents,^{[34][35][36][37][38]} with ESPN describing his work rate as "intriguing" yet "unrefined."^[39] Described as a player that likes to hold on to the ball and cross, he is fouled on often.^[40]

During a Guardianes 2020 quarter-finals match against Club América, his speed throughout the encounter was recorded as one of the fastest footballers in the world, second to Kylian Mbappe.^[41]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 23 August 2024^[42][43]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup[a]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Santos Laguna	2016–17	Liga MX	1	0	1	0	—		—		2	0
Groningen (loan)	2017–18	Eredivisie	11	0	1	0	—		—		12	0
	2018–19		9	0	1	0	—		—		10	0
	Total		20	0	2	0	—		—		22	0
Jong Groningen (loan)	2017–18	Derde Divisie	14	3	—		—		—		14	3
	2018–19		5	2	—		—		—		5	2
	Total		19	5	—		—		—		19	5
LA Galaxy (loan)	2019	MLS	31	6	—		—		3[b]	0	34	6
Guadalajara	2019–20	Liga MX	9	0	2	0	—		—		11	0
	2020–21		38	6	—		—		—		38	6
	2021–22		15	0	—		—		—		15	0
	Total		62	6	2	0	—		—		64	6
Cruz Azul	2021–22	Liga MX	20	2	—		5[c]	2	1[d]	0	26	4
	2022–23		35	8	—		–		–		35	8
	2023–24		37	14	—		–		3[e]	1	40	15
	2024–25		5	0	—		–		4[e]	1	9	1
	Total		97	24	–		5	2	8	2	110	28
Career total			230	41	5	0	5	2	11	2	251	45

1. Includes Copa MX and KNVB Cup
2. Two appearances in MLS Cup Playoffs, one appearance in Leagues Cup
3. Appearances in CONCACAF Champions League
4. Appearance in Supercopa de la Liga MX
5. Appearances in Leagues Cup

International

As of match played 30 June 2024^[44]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Mexico	2019	12[note 1]	6
	2020	3	1
	2021	11	0
	2022	13	2
	2023	18	4
	2024	7	0
Total		64	13

Scores and results list Mexico's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Antuna goal.^[42]

List of international goals scored by Uriel Antuna

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	15 June 2019	Rose Bowl, Pasadena, United States	Cuba	1–0	7–0	2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup
2				4–0
3				7–0
	23 June 2019	Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, United States	Martinique	1–0	3–2
4	6 September 2019	MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, United States	United States	3–0	3–0	Friendly
5	11 October 2019	Bermuda National Stadium, Devonshire Parish, Bermuda	Bermuda	1–0	5–1	2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League A
6	19 November 2019	Estadio Nemesio Díez, Toluca, Mexico		2–1	2–1
7	14 November 2020	Stadion Wiener Neustadt, Wiener Neustadt, Austria	South Korea	2–1	3–2	Friendly
8	30 March 2022	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico	El Salvador	1–0	2–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
9	9 November 2022	Estadi Montilivi, Girona, Spain	Iraq	4–0	4–0	Friendly
10	19 April 2023	State Farm Stadium, Glendale, United States	United States	1–0	1–1
11	12 September 2023	Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, United States	Uzbekistan	3–2	3–3
12	14 October 2023	Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, United States	Ghana	2–0	2–0
13	17 October 2023	Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, United States	Germany	1–1	2–2

Honours

Cruz Azul

• Supercopa de la Liga MX: 2022

Mexico U23

• CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship: 2020
• Olympic Bronze Medal: 2020^[45]

Mexico

• CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2019,^[46] 2023^[47]

Individual

• CONCACAF U-20 Championship Best XI: 2017
• Liga MX Best XI: Guardianes 2020^[48]
• CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship Best XI: 2020
• Liga MX All-Star: 2022^[49]
• Liga MX Golden Boot (Shared): Clausura 2024

Notes

1. Antuna played a match against Martinique in 2019, however, this team is not recognized by FIFA, so their matches are not statistically valid.

References

1. "Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
2. "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™: List of Players: Mixeco" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 18. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
3. "Club de Futbol Cruz Azul | Azul de por vida". cfcruzazul.com. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
4. "Estrella mexicana del Sub 20 Antuna, debutó con Santos en Liga MX" (in Spanish). Concacaf.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
5. "NEWS City Football Group sign Mexico U20 midfielder Uriel Antuna from Santos Laguna". mcfcwatch.com. City Watch. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
6. "Dutch side FC Groningen sign Manchester City youngster on two-year loan deal". mcfcwatch.com. City Watch. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
7. "Mexicano Uriel Antuna debuta en la Liga de Holanda" (in Spanish). Informador. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
8. "LA Galaxy acquire midfielder Uriel Antuna | LA Galaxy".
9. Bogert, Tom (3 October 2019). "Report: LA Galaxy's on-loan winger Uriel Antuna extends Manchester City contract". Mlssoccer.com.
10. Rodriguez, Alicia (25 October 2019). "Report: LA Galaxy's Uriel Antuna drawing interest from Benfica". MLSSoccer.com.
11. "Conoce a fondo a Uriel Antuna, primer refuerzo de Chivas". chivasdecorazon.com.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 November 2019.
12. Esquivel, Nestor (12 January 2020). "Chivas defeat Juarez convincingly 2-0". VivaLigaMX.com.
13. "Uriel Antuna marca su primer gol con Chivas en la Liga MX". 6 September 2020.
14. "Cambio Sebastián Córdova por Uriel Antuna se mantendría estancado hasta la próxima semana" (in Spanish). ESPN México. 3 December 2021.
15. "Cruz Azul hace oficial intercambio con Chivas" (in Spanish). ESPN México. 4 January 2022.
16. "Convocatoria de la Selección Nacional de México Sub 20". MiSeleccion.com.mx (in Spanish).
17. "Convocatoria de la Selección Nacional de México Sub-20". Miseleccion.mx. FMF. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
18. "Antuna hat-trick propels Mexico past El Salvador at CU20". Concacaf.com. CONCACAF. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
19. "TSG announces CU20 Best XI, Awards". CONCACAF.com. 8 March 2017. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
20. "Convocatoria de la SNM Sub-20 para la Copa del Mundo de la FIFA Corea 2017". miseleccion.mx. FMF. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
21. "Revelan convocatoria del Tri Sub-21 para el torneo Esperanzas de Toulon". ESPN (in Spanish). 22 May 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
22. Simpson, Christopher. "England Beat Mexico to Win 2018 Toulon Tournament Final, 3rd Straight Title". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
23. "Ellos son los 4 mexicanos que encabezan el 11 ideal de Concacaf del Preolímpico 2021".
24. "Revelan lista oficial de la Selección Sub-23 que acudirá a Tokio 2020". 5 July 2021.
25. "Uriel Antuna, Omar Govea get first Mexico call-ups for friendlies". ESPN FC. 3 November 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
26. Martínez Villar, Enrique (14 May 2019). "Marco Fabián vuelve y no está Tecatito; anuncian lista previa de México para Copa Oro". Mediotiempo.com.
27. "Mexico v Venezuela game report". ESPN. 5 June 2019.
28. Martínez Villar, Enrique (14 June 2019). "Jorge Sánchez se pierde la Copa Oro; a Moreno lo esperarán". Mediotiempo.com.
29. "Uriel Antuna's Hat trick". Goal. 15 June 2019.
30. "Gol de Uriel Antuna impone récord para México". ESPN Deportes (in Spanish). 15 June 2019.
31. Straus, Brian (7 July 2019). "Mexico Turns Tide, Wins Gold Cup Title Again vs. Wasteful USMNT". Sports Illustrated.
32. Zucker, Joseph (19 November 2019). "Uriel Antuna's Injury-Time Winner Saves Mexico vs Bermuda in 2019 Nations League". Bleacher Report.
33. Moro, Omar (14 November 2022). "Lista de convocados de la Selección Mexicana al Mundial de Qatar 2022". Tvazteca.com (in Spanish).
34. "LA Galaxy winger Uriel Antuna added to Mexico Gold Cup roster". Mlssoccer.com. 14 June 2019.
35. Maupomé, Ana Paulina (16 June 2019). "Another LA Galaxy player to perform in the Gold Cup". En.as.com.
36. Tinajero, Antonio (20 June 2019). "Uriel Antuna's meteoric rise that almost didn't happen, Guardado's growing legacy and more". FMF State of Mind.
37. Franco, Chanie (22 June 2019). "Who Is LA Galaxy's Uriel Antuna?". Lafbnetwork.com.
38. Marshall, Tom (1 January 2020). "'Charly' Rodriguez, 'JJ' Macias emerge as Mexico stars for 2020". ESPN.
39. Hernandez, Cesar (24 October 2019). "Dos Santos, Guardado 8/10 as Mexico keeps rolling". ESPN.
40. "Uriel Antuna Football Statistics". Whoscored.com.
41. "Uriel Antuna, muy cerca de Kylian Mbappe como el jugador más rápido del mundo" (in Spanish). ESPN Deportes. 26 November 2020.
42. Uriel Antuna at Soccerway
43. "Uriel Antuna". WorldFootball.net.
44. Uriel Antuna at National-Football-Teams.com
45. "Mexico win Olympic bronze medal after beating hosts Japan at Tokyo 2020". Goal. 6 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
46. Straus, Brian (7 July 2019). "Mexico Turns Tide, Wins Gold Cup Title Again vs. Wasteful USMNT". Sports Illustrated.
47. "Mexico beats Panama in Gold Cup final with late Gimenez goal". ESPN. 16 July 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
48. De la Cruz, Luis (16 December 2020). "Liga MX: León, Pumas y Cruz Azul se 'roban' el 11 ideal del Guardianes 2020". SoyFutbol.com (in Spanish).
49. "LIGA MX announces roster for 2022 MLS All-Star Game at Allianz Field". Major League Soccer. 19 July 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.

External links

• Uriel Antuna at Liga MX (archive) (in Spanish)
• Uriel Antuna at Major League Soccer
• Uriel Antuna – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Uriel Antuna at WorldFootball.net
• Uriel Antuna at National-Football-Teams.com
• Uriel Antuna at Soccerway
• Carlos Antuna at Concacaf Mexico U-20 (in Spanish)
• Carlos Antuna at MCFC Watch
• Carlos Antuna at Informador (in Spanish)